Perfect Encounter - Chapter 9.2
PROOFREAD BY AFREANA
Chapter 9.2
An Ruochen was shocked: “What’s going on?”
”I heard from the neighbors early this morning that his house was robbed and his belongings were taken away. Old Chen lived alone. When the neighbors found him in the morning, he was already dead.”
“Robbed?”
“Yes. I just came to tell Miss. Although there is no war, the world is not as peaceful as before. There are thieves within the city. Old Chen’s family is not wealthy, but unfortunately, he has been hit by this disaster, which leaves people with regret. The thieves must have seen Old Chen living alone with no one to take care of him, so they picked his house.”
“That ……” An Ruochen’s heart panicked. A sense of unease filled her heart: ”Are you sure it’s just thieves? Only stealing the household belongings?”
Lu Daniang said: “The government went to investigate, today the streets and alleys are all talking about it. I have not checked it out but only heard about it. The thief was very vicious. The murder weapon is the Old Chen’s wooden knife, and the thief cut off one of his fingers.” Lu Daniang shook her head and sighed repeatedly. “We are not as good as the big families with household guards, so it’s better to be more careful from now on.”
After Lu Daniang left, An Ruochen became more worried the more she was thinking. She asked her maid to inquire about it. The maid said there was indeed such a thing, and all the servants in the residence were talking about it. This time the whole city panicked. Some vendors closed early and hurried to repair the door and locks. The government posted a notice, saying they sent more people to inspect the streets, and each household was to be more careful. They should report to the officials if they see a suspicious person. The maid said the thief was cruel, not only killing people but also cutting people’s fingers.
An Ruochen was distracted. She felt this must be related to her. Otherwise, how could there be such a coincidence?
Xu Matchmaker has already known the person who eavesdropped was her, but now it was the owner of the house who got into trouble, while no one came after her, which can only mean that Xu Matchmaker did not give her away yet. Someone had asked the owner who was renting the house before, and the owner covered it up.
Is it really a coincidence?
An Ruochen always felt there was a secret in this matter, but she couldn’t understand it.
During the night, An Ruochen tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She thought about the matter over and over again. Her earrings must have been found by Mr. Xie only when he came back. Otherwise, he would have said something as soon as he found it. She could hear them from inside the tank, and if he confirmed that someone was indeed eavesdropping, he would not have gone away so hastily.
He went and came back, went and came back…… This shows his level of suspicion is very high, so it’s likely that he did not believe what the house owner said the first time and decided to ask again. This time he used ferocious means and also killed the house owner afterwards.
A finger…
An Ruochen was shocked and sat up abruptly.
The house owner does not have many belongings, so it is unnecessary to cut the finger to force out their whereabouts. What the thief wanted to ask about must be the person who rented the house. A finger, not two, three, or more, which means he got what he wanted. After the murder, he stole the money to cover it up.
But the house’s owner did not know who the owner of the earrings was, nor did he know that the person who rented the house was her.
An Ruochen broke out in a cold sweat.
Lu Daniang.
An Ruochen jumped up, her heart was burning, and she didn’t feel cold even when her bare feet were on the ground. She needs to find General Long. Only General Long can save Lu Daniang. Mr. Xie asked about Lu Daniang last night. To avoid making a mistake, he will not delay for long and will likely go to Lu Daniang’s house to kill her tonight.
An Ruochen hurriedly put on her coat, slipped on her shoes, and thought about it while getting dressed. She can’t even go out during the day, let alone in the middle of the night. She can’t get the maids to help her and she can’t talk clearly for fear that she may expose herself. And if there is any delay, Lu Daniang would be in danger.
She couldn’t climb through the wall. And even if she somehow gets out successfully, she was afraid she won’t be able to run all the way to the Purple Cloud House.
Time is short and she needs to be faster. It is best to ride a horse.
But she can’t ride a horse, and she can’t steal the residence’s horses.
An Ruochen took a few deep breaths. Calm down. She needs to calm down.
The General had sent people to keep an eye on her. In the middle of the night, were they still there? Is it possible when she meets them, they will be able to report to General Long with a fast horse? But where are they? The government will not be brazenly hanging around outside the residence in the middle of the night. And she couldn’t get out.
An Ruochen gritted her teeth and looked around the room, then began to take off her outer clothes and remove her shoes and socks just as if she had gone to bed for the night. She lay back on the bed, looked from the angle of the bed, and then got up and opened the window. The candlelight in her room was still lit up. Before she went to bed, she wanted to read a book and sent the maid away, saying she would extinguish it herself. But she was so distracted that she forgot to put it out when she went to bed.
She approached the window and looked at the ground outside, then put on her shoes, took the coat hanging on the wall and wrapped it around her shoes a few times, finally climbing out and stepping on the ground outside the window several times, to leave some friction marks. She then climbed back in, pushed the candlelight to the table, threw the clothes on the floor, and scattered a few pieces of paper next to her own writing. Then she adjusted the screen’s position, took off her shoes and put them back on the side of the bed.
Everything was ready. An Ruochen lay down on the bed and looked again. Since she couldn’t find General Long’s people, let them come to her.
She gritted her teeth, lifted the pillow, smashed it hard in the direction of the candle lamp, then screamed. While screaming, she jumped up and pushed the screen.
The candle lamp was smashed and fell to the ground, with the paper lampshade soon bursting into flames, burning the papers and the clothes An Ruochen had just thrown on the ground.
“Help! Come on, someone!” Accompanying the scream was the sound of the screen falling and knocking over a chair. The screen swept across the table and knocked down the table clutter.
“Help! There are thieves!” An Ruochen shouted as she crashed into the bed rail and then lunged at the table, knocking her forehead on its corner. She didn’t care about the pain. She swung the chair and smashed it against the window with a loud ”Bang” sound, then turned her head and ran towards the door.
At the sound of her screams, the two maids opened the door and rushed in shock, “What’s wrong? Miss, what’s going on?”
“There are thieves. Call someone. There are thieves.” An Ruochen’s panic-stricken appearance, with disheveled clothes, loose hair, no shoes, and a wound on the corner of her forehead, scared the two maids so much that they screamed along with her.
Soon, the whole An House was alerted to the noise. The guards searched all the courtyards, An Ping sent people to report to the law enforcement quickly, and people gathered in the hall. They searched the rooms one by one.
An Ruochen’s room caught fire. The fire was not big. Only a few clothes and corner items were burned and quickly extinguished. An Ruochen put on her clothes, shoes, and socks. She sat in the courtyard with a pale face and let the old nanny help her with the injuries on her face.
An Zhifu came angrily and asked, “What’s going on?”
An Ruochen was so scared that her voice was still shaking: “I was reading late today. I suddenly felt that there was someone in the room just as I drifted off to sleep. I opened my eyes and saw a man in black going through my drawers, looking for some belongings. I immediately thought of the thieves who had appeared in the city yesterday, so I shouted for help and hit him with a pillow. As I tried to run, he pushed me and I hit my head. I swung a chair at him, but he grabbed it, crashed through the window, jumped out, and ran away.” An Ruochen cried as she spoke. The old nanny was distressed and took her in her arms to comfort her.
The two maids were scared, said they had fallen asleep, heard the sound of fighting in the house and the young lady shouting for help. They were busy dressing up and rushed in. By the time they came, the thief had already run away through the window, and then they were busy saving the young lady.
An Zhifu was angry and stomped his feet. There was a thief in the residence! Those residence guards are eating free rice! “Search! Search! Catch him! How dare you steal from my residence? You’re tired of living! An Ping! Where are the officials? Why haven’t they arrived yet?”
An Ruochen buried her head in her old nanny’s arms, looking like she was still in shock. The officials would arrive, but she hoped the General’s men would arrive as well. The people watching her outside the residence must have heard such a big commotion. If it goes well, she guessed that it would be Zong Zeqing. It would make more sense for the military to intervene in such a matter, if they have a personal reason. General Zong could say he happened to hear about this matter. He just had dinner at the An House. How come it was robbed? So, it would be natural for him to come over to look.
An Ruochen’s courtyard had been searched. The maids have arranged another room for An Ruochen to stay in temporarily, but the officials have not yet arrived. An Ruochen was anxious. She sat in the room for a while. The old nanny wanted to stay with her in the room on the floor, but she refused. An Ruochen coaxed her to leave saying she needed a quiet environment to think.
After a while, she heard noisy voices outside, meaning the officials arrived. An Ruochen crouched behind the door and listened. The officials were asking questions and looking at her burned house. She heard an official shouting that there were traces of people climbing under the window. The thieves must have watched for a while before entering the house to confirm the people were asleep before they dared to do it. This time An Ruochen heard a voice that lifted her spirits: “There is nothing unusual at the gatehouse. The thief must have come in over the wall. Let’s look at the walls of the courtyards to see if there are any traces. Where they came in is where they went out. If not, he may still be hiding in the residence. Master An, don’t worry. The authorities attach great importance to this matter and have sent many people to catch the thief. I told you, how could this happen so soon after I left? I came to take a look, don’t worry, Master An, I’m on it.”
It was Zong Zeqing. He came.
An Ruochen bit her lip, thinking that Zong Zeqing should say he wanted to talk to her and see her.
But Zong Zeqing didn’t. He got into something else. The officials were sent outside by him to check and called the maids and servants for questioning. An Ruochen frowned, thinking whether to take the initiative to go out, but at this time she heard someone knock on the window frame a few times.
An Ruochen turned her head and was shocked.
“General.”